Machine for feeding protectors for the heels and soles of boots and shoes.



0. s. Goonme & s. E, TAPT. MACHINE FOR FEEDING PROTECTORS FOR THE HEELS AND SOLES 0P BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.29, 1910.

1,010,492. v A Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH COHWASHINUITON. D c.

G. S. GOO-DING & S. E. TAFT. MAGHINE FOR FEEDING PROTEGTORS FOR THE HEELS AND sons 01 BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1910.

- 1,010,492. Patented Dec. 5, 1911..

ESHEETB-SEEET 2.

Tiff :nnlg g m pa m 70 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASHINGTQN, D. c.

0. s. eoonme & s. E. TAFT. MACHINE FOR FEEDING PROTECTORS FOR THE HEELS AND SOLES 0F BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29; 1910. I

1,010,492. PatentedDec.5, 1911.-

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

QWN

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAP" C(L, WASHINGTON, n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. GOODING, OF BROOKLINE, AND SYDNEY ETAFT, OF SOUTH FRAMINGHAM,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO SAID GOODING, AND ONE-HALF T0 LEOPOLD I-I. VOGEL, OF JAMAICA PLAIN,

MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING PROTECTORS FOR THE HEELS AND SOLES OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 29 1910. SerialNo. 540,754.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatwe. CHARLES S. GoonlNG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, and SYDNEY E. TAFT, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Framingham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Feeding Protectors for the Heels and Soles of Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved mechanism for feeding protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes, the same being particularly adapted to feed V-shaped protectors formed of a flat strip of metal with one edge sharp and the other edge of the full thickness of the strip of metal, the sharp edge being provided to facilitate the driving of the V-shaped protector into the sole or heel of a boot or shoe and the blunt or thick edge forming the tread of the protector being of the full thickness, preferably, of the protector in order to resist wear.

It is desirable, in the practical driving of the protectors into the soles and heels of boots and shoes, that said protectors should be automatically fed from a mass of the same one by one beneath a driver, which driver is adapted to drive the protectors into the soles, top lifts or heels of boots and shoes. The difficulty in feeding protectors of the character set forth, or any articles of similar construction and form, is that there is no head upon the protector'to feed the same along a guide-way or raceway and be certain that the same shall arrive at the driver with the same end uppermost, for it is evident that an article of the character set forth will pass into the guide-way of a race-way or pass through a certain space or hole just as well in one direction as the other, that is, with its cutting edge foremost or with its tread foremost, and thus when the protectors arrive beneath the driver they might be placed with their tread uppermost or with the cutting edge uppermost, which would evidently be entirely impracticable. On the other hand, if the protectors are placed in a guide-way by hand or driven in the shoes by hand, it renders'the work of attaching the protectors to the soles and heels of boots and shoes very expensive. It

is to overcome these difiiculties that the pres- -ent invention is designed, with the object of putting the protectors in mass in a hoplper and feeding them down a race-way to 'a driver, said protectors all coming to the driver right side up, or with the cutting edge down and the tread uppermost, so that they may be driven into the soles or heels of boots and shoes in the proper manner.

To these ends the invention consists in a device of the character set forth having, in combination, a raceway adapted to guide protectors for the heels and soles of boots and shoes and like articles, said raceway being formed in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, andmeans in,- terposed between said upper section and said lower section capable of selecting such protectors as are passing down said raceway tread foremost from among other protectors on said raceway which are descending the same cutting edge foremost, and inverting the protectors which are descending the raceway tread foremost and passing them down the raceway cutting edge foremost, the device being also adapted to pass all of such protectors as enter the raceway cutting edge foremost down said raceway cutting edge foremost.

The invention further consists in the combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the claims thereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away to save space in the drawings, of our improved mechanism for feeding protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a right hand side elevation of the rotary carrier with the spring finger actuating bracket shown in dotted linesin connection therewith. Fig. 4 is a plan view of said rotary carrier with the spring finger actuating bracket shown in connection therewith and also a portion of the raceway. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the carrier slide. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 5, Fig.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

8 is a sectional elevation taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2. Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are sectional elevations similar to Fig. 8 showing the parts in different positions for the purpose of illustrating the operation of feeding and inverting the protectors. Fig. 14 is a detail sectional elevation taken on line 1414 of Fig. 8 illustrating the intermittent gears. Fig. 15 is a perspective view of one form of shoe protector which the mechanism hereinafter described is adapted to feed. Fig. 16 is a section taken on line 16-16 of Fig. 1. Fig. 17 is a detail section taken on line 1717 of Fig. 1. Fig. 18 is a section taken on line 1818 of Fig. 1. Fig. 19 is a section taken on line 19-19 of Fig. 1.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, 20 is a frame of suitable construction upon which is rotatably mounted a pulley 21 driven by a belt 22. The pulley 21 is fast to a shaft 23 mounted to rotate in bearings in the frame 20 and having fastened thereto a worm 24 which meshes into a Worm gear 25. The worm gear 25 is fastened to a shaft 26 mounted to rotate in a bearing 27 and having fastened thereto a cam 28 provided with a cam groove 29 in which is located a cam roll 30 rotatably mounted upon a stud 31 fast to a slide block-32. The slide block 32 is adapted to slide in ways 33 (Figs. 5 and 6) formed in the carrier slide 34. In its normal position the slide block 32 rests against the slide 34 at the right hand end of the slot 35 in which the slide block 32 is located. The other side of said block (Fig. 5) bears against a spring 36, also located in said slot 35 and with its opposite end bearing against the slide 34 at the left hand end of the slot 35. The slide 34 is adapted to slide in suitable bearings 37 and 38 on the frame 20 and has two V-shaped holes 39 and 40 extending therethrough from the top to the bottom. The hole 39 is normally closed by means of a stop slide 41 guided in ways 42 in said carrier slide 34 and said stop slide 41 is held in the position illustrated in Figs. 5 and 8, with its right hand end covering or extending across the bottom of the V-shaped hole 39, being held in this position by a spring 43 which bears at its opposite end against a. cross-pin 44 fast to the slide 34.

The carrier slide 34 extends across a raceway 45 between the upper section 46 and the lower section 47 thereof. The upper section 46 consists of base 48 and a cap 49, shown in section in Fig. 17, said base and cap being rigidly fastened to the frame 20 and having a space 50 therebetween constituting a guide-way, in which the protectors 51 are adapted to slide. The lower section 47 of the raceway 45 in the upper portion thereof has two guide-ways 52, 53 (see Fig. 18).

The upper portion of the lower section 47 of the raceway 45 consists of three parts, a base 54, an intermediate portion 55 and a cap 56. The intermediate portion 55 forms a cap for the guide-way 52 and a base for the guide-way 53. The lower portion of the lower section 47 is substantially the same in cross section as the upper section 46 and consists of the continuation of the base 54 and of the cap 56, see Fig. 19.

Immediately beneath the slide carrier 34 is a rotary carrier 57 (see Fig. 8) which is fastened to a shaft 58 rotatable in the bearing 59 upon the frame 20. Said shaft is rotated by means of the intermittent gear 60 fast thereto and meshing into another intermittent gear 61, the gear 61 being fastened to the shaft 26. It will be seen that the intermittent gear 60 is turned a half rotation when the intermittent gear 61 is turned a half rotation and that the intermittent gear 60 is locked in position by the curved portions 62 and 63 when said curved portions come in contact with the concave curved portions 64 and 65, respectively, of the intermittent gear 60, thus locking the rotary carrier 57 in position to receive a protector at its upper side from the upper section 46 of the raceway 45 and to deliver a protector to the guide-way 52 of the lower section 47 of said raceway.

It will be seen by reference to Figs. 3 and 4 that the rotary carrier 57 has a V- shaped recess 66 in the upper side thereof and another V-shaped recess 67 corresponding to the recess 66 in the lower side thereof. These two recesses are alike in shape and alternately receive a protector from the lower end of the upper section of the raceway, and upon a half rotation of said carrier the protector is delivered to the upper end of the guide-way 52 in the lower section of the raceway. When the rotary carrier 57 is in the position illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the V-shaped recesses 66 and 67 are open at the periphery of the rotary carrier so as to receive a protector from the upper section of the raceway and to deposit a protector in the lower section of the raceway, respectively. WVhen, however, the carrier is being rotated, for the purpose of inverting a protector which has passed down the raceway tread foremost, said V-shaped recesses are closed at the periphery of the carrier to hold the protector therein by means of spring fingers 68 and 69, respectively. These spring fingers are fastened to the rotary carrier at one end thereof and at their free ends are bent at right angles over the periphery of the rotary carrier and extend into grooves in said periphery. as .will be seen by reference to Fig. 8. As the carrier 57 is rotated, these spring fingers contact with the stationary bracket 70 and are moved in at their upper ends to close the recesses 66 and 67, and thus the protectors are held in their respective V-sha-ped grooves in said carrier by means of these spring fingers.

A movable stop 71 (Figs. 1 and 8) projects through the cap 49 and contacts with the protectors at the lower end of the upper section of the raceway, holding the column of protectors in said upper section back while the lowermost protector drops from said section into one of the V-shaped holes 39 or 40 in the carrier slide 34, as will be more fully described hereinafter. This stop finger 71 is pivotally mounted upon an arm 72 (Fig. 1) which is pivoted at 73 to the frame 20 and is held normally in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 by a spring 74.

A rocking movement, at intervals, is imparted to the arm 72 by inclined plates 75 fast to the periphery of the cam 28 at diametrically opposite sides thereof, so that as said cam is rotated said plates engage the lower end of the arm 72, moving it toward the right (Fig. 1) and drawing the stop finger 71 toward the right (Figs. 1 and 8) to release the protectors in tlie column and allow them to drop down a distance equal to the depth of one protector. Then, upon be ing released, the arm 72 is drawn by the spring 74 back to the position illustrated in Fig. 1 and the finger 71 is moved to the position illustrated in Fig. 8.

The lower section of the raceway terminates at its lower end adjacent to a suitable pocket into which the protectors drop one by one and are then driven into the sole or heel of the boot or shoe by a suitable driver in a manner well known to those skilled in the art, and the upper section of said raceway terminates preferably inside the outer rim 76 of the hop er casing 77. Within said hopper casing 7 -is rotatably mounted a picker wheel 78 which is provided with five picker arms 79, 79. These arms are V- shaped upon the front and back edges 80 and 81 thereof, respectively, and thus form guides for the V-shaped protectors which straddle them. A rotary motion is imparted to the picker wheel 78 by a pawl 82 and ratchet 83, said ratchet being fast to a shaft 84 to which the picker wheel 78 is also fastened. The pawl 82 is pivotally mounted upon a rocker arm 85 which is pivotally' connected to a rod 86 fast to a cam slide 87. The cam slide 87 has a roll 88 mounted thereon and bearing against a cam 89 which is fast to the shaft 23. A spring 90 is fastened to the left hand end of the rocker arm 85 (Fig. 1) and acts, through the arm 85, rod 86 and cam slide 87, to hold the roll 88 against the periphery of the cam 89. Another spring 91 acts to hold the pawl 82 in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet 83.

Having thus specifically described our invention, we will now proceed to describe the general operation of the same: Assuming the parts to be in the relative positions illustrated in Figs. 1 and 8, it will be seen that as the picker plate is intermittently rotated by the mechanism hereinbefore described, the different blades as they pass through the protectors at the bottom of the hopper casing pick up these protectors upon their edges and carry them forward in the direction of the arrow a (Fig. 1), and as the rotation of the picker wheel continues the protectors are carried upwardly and slide around from the front edge of the blades to the back edge thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Eventually each blade stops, with its back edge in alinement with the base 48 of the upper section 46 of the raceway, and the protectors which are then upon said blade slide off of the blade and down the guide-way between the cap 49 and the base 48 of the upper section 46 of the raceway. The protectors slide down the raceway and stop with the lower most protector resting, as illustrated in Fig. 8, against the stop-finger 71. This protector, it will be seen, is located withfits cutting edge lowermost and the next protector above is located in the guide-way with its tread lowermost. It, therefore, follows that it is necessary to pass the lowermost protector 51 down the raceway without inverting it and also, the protector 51 must be inverted before it is passed down the raceway and so on throughout all of the protectors which are located upon the upper section. Now, as the shaft 26 is rotated by the mechanism hereinbefore described the cam 28 is rotated and the cam plate 75 rocks the arm 72 to move the finger 71 toward the right (Fig. 8), thus allowing the protector 51 to drop downwardly, and the cutting edge of said protector will then project into the V-shaped slot 39 in the carrier slide 84. It will be noted that at this time said V-shaped slot 39 is out of alinement with the guide-way at the lower end of the upper section of the raceway, so that the protector 51 cannot drop into said slot 39, but only part way thereinto. -A further rotation of the cam 28 will move the roll 30 and slide block 32 toward the left (Figs. 1 and 8) and will compress the spring 36, as illustrated in Fig. 9, but the slide 34 will not move, as it is locked in position by the lower cutting end of the protector 51. Upon a still further rotation of the cam 28 the roll 30 and slide block 32 are moved toward the right until the parts arrive in the position illustrated in Fig. 10, when the sliding block 32 abuts against the right hand end of the slot 35 and moves the carrier slide 34 toward the right until the V-shaped hole 39 is in alinement with the lower end of the guide-way 50, whereupon the protector 51 will drop into the Vsshaped hole 39. At this time the stop slide 41 projects across the bottom of the V-shaped hole 39 and thus the protector 51 is held in said hole, and as the cam 28 still further rotates, the slide 34 is brought to the position illustrated in Fig. 11 and the stop slide 41 is moved relatively to the slide 34 to uncover the hole 39 by abutting against the left hand face of the rotary carrier 57. The protector 51 then slides down the guide-way 53, as seen in Fig. 11, and passing down said guide-way will eventually arrive at the lower end of the raceway, where it will drop into a suitable pocket and be driven by a suitable driver not shown in the drawings. The stop finger 71 is now holding the protector 51 as illustrated in Fig. 11 and upon further rotation of the cam said stop finger will again be drawn toward the right and allow the protector 51 to drop downwardly to the position illustrated in Fig. 12, (the carrier slide 34 meantime having been brought back to its original position, as illustrated in Fig. 12) and with the hole 39 out of alinement with the guideway in the lower end of the upper section of the raceway. The broad or tread end of the protector 51 now being lowermost, a portion of said tread will rest upon the upper surface of the slide 34, as shown in said Fig. 12. Now, upon a repetition of the movements of the parts hereinbefore described, the carrier slide 34 will move to the left from the position illustrated in Fig. 12 to that illustrated in Fig. 13, being carried to this position by the cam roll 30 and sliding block 32, with the spring 36 interposed between said sliding block and the slide 34. The spring 36 in this instance is not compressed, as there is no unusual resistance to the movement of the carrier slide and, therefore, said carrier slide moves freely to the position illustrated in Fig. 13 and thus.

the V-shaped hole 40 is brought into alinement with the upper guide-way 50 at the lower end of the upper section of the raceway. As soon as this occurs the protector 51 drops through the hole 40 and into one of the V-shaped recesses 66 or 67 as the case may be, in the rotary carrier 57 Said rotary carrier, upon a further rotation of the cam 28 is rotated, by means of the intermittent gears (50 and 61, through a half rotation and this brings the protector 51 in alinement with the upper end of the guide-way 52 (Fig. 13) and at this time the protector 51 drops out of the rotary carrier, which has, during its half rotation, inverted the same, so as to bring its cutting edge undermost and said protector then slides down the guide-way 52 into the common guide-way at the lower end of the lower section and thence downwardly beneath the driver to be driven in the shoe.

It will be seen that protectors or any other similar articles which have no heads, but have a sharp edge and a dull edge at opposite ends thereof, may be placed in bulk in a suitable hopper, fed from said hopper automatically to a raceway, and then pass down said raceway, some of them cutting edge foremost and others tread foremost, and that by suitable means interposed in said raceway all of said protectors which pass down the'raceway tread foremost may be inverted so as to pass down said raceway cutting edge foremost, together with the balance of the protectors on said raceway which enter said raceway cutting edge forcmost, so that at the lower end of the raceway all of said protectors will be presented to the driver with the cutting edge down and with the tread uppermost, so as to be driven into a boot or shoe by said driver.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire by Letters Patent to secure is:

1. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and like articles, having in combination, a raceway adapted to guide said V protectors said raceway being formed in two sections, viz., an upper section. and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, and means to invert any of said protectors which enter said raceway tread edge foremost. 2. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway adapted to guide said protectors said raceway being formed in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, and mechanism adapted to invert any of said protectors which enter said raceway tread edge foremost, said mechanism also adapted to feed protectors which enter said raceway cutting edge foremost down said raceway cutting edge foremost.

3. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes formed with a cutting edge and a relatively dull edge or tread, having in combination, a raceway adapted to guide said protectors, said raceway formed in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof and mechanism interposed in said raceway adapted to invert said protectors which enter said raceway tread foremost.

4. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes formed with a cutting edge and a relatively dull edge or tread, having in combination, a raceway adapted to guide said protectors, said raceway being formed in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, and

mechanism interposed in said raceway adapted to invert any of said protectors which enter said raceway tread foremost, said mechanism also adapted to pass all of said protectors which enter said raceway cutting edge foremost down said raceway cutting edge foremost.

5. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof and means to move a protector out of alinement with the lower end of the guide-way of said upper section into alinement with the upper end of one of the guide-ways of said lower section.

6. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having 'two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, and means interposed between said upper and lower sections adapted to invert a protector as it passes from one section to the other.

7. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, means to move a protector out of alinement with the lower end of the guide-way of said upper section into alinement with the upper end of one of the guideways of said lower section, and means to invert a protector as it passes from said upper section to the other guide-way of said lower section.

8. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof and a slide extending across and between said sections with a hole extending therethrough, means located beneath said slide adapted toinvert a protector, and means to move said slide transversely of. said raceway, whereby said hole may be brought into and out of alinement with the lower end of said guide-way in said upper section, and into and out of alinement with the upper ends of the guide-ways in said lower section.

9. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, a rotary carrier interposed between said upper and lower sections, said carrier provided with a V-shaped recess in its periphery adapted to receive one of said V-shaped protectors andmeans to rotate said carrier, whereby a protector received by said carrier from said upper section may be carried to said lower section and inverted during the carrying operation, and means to close and open said recess alternately during the rotation of said carrier.

10. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, the upper end of one of the guide-ways in the lower section being out of alinement with the lower end of the guide-way of said upper section, a carrier extending across and between said sections with a hole extending therethrough, and means to move said carrier transversely of said raceway, whereby said hole may be brought into and out of alinement with said guide-ways.

11. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, a carrier extending across and between said sections with two holes extending therethrough, an inverting mechanism interposed between said carrier and said lower section, and means to operate said inverting mechanism and to move said carrier transversely of said raceway, whereby said holes may be brought into and out of alinement with the guide-ways in said raceway.

12. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots'and shoes formed with a cutting edge and a relatively dull edge or tread, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, a carrier extending across and between said sections with two holes extending therethrough, means to impart a reciprocatory motion thereto, and a rotary carrier interposed between said reciprocatory carrier and said lower section, whereby protectors which enter said raceway tread foremost may be inverted and passed down said raceway cutting edge foremost, together with all other protectors on said raceway.

13. A device for feeding V-protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combiniation, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof the upper end of one of the guide-ways in said lower section being out of alinement with the lower end of the guide-way of said upper section, a slide extending across and between said sections with a hole extending therethrough, a cam adapted to move said slide transversely of said raceway, whereby said hole may be brought into and out of alinement with said guide-ways, and yielding means interposed between said cam and slide for the purpose specified.

14. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viZ., an upper section and a lower section said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, the upper end of one of the guide-ways in said lower section being out of alinement with the lower end of the guide-way of said upper section, a slide extending across and beneath said sections with a hole extending therethrough, a cam adapted to move said slide transversely of said raceway, whereby said hole may be brought into and out of alinement with said guide-ways, yielding means interposed between said cam and slide for the purpose specified, and a stop on said slide extending beneath said hole and movable relatively thereto.

15. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a" raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, a rotary carrier interposed between said sections having a recess therein to receive one of said protectors, a spring finger mounted upon said carrier and normally out of alinement with said recess, and stationary means adapted to move said finger over a portion of said recess during the rotation of said carrier and to release the same at the completion of a partial rotation thereof for the purpose specified.

16. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes formed with a cutting edge and a relatively dull edge or tread, having in combination, a raceway adapted to guide said protectors, said raceway being formed in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, mechanism interposed in said raceway adapted to invert any of said protectors which enter said raceway tread foremost, and a stop adapted to alternately engage and release each protector of a series of protectors in said upper section.

17 A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes formed with a cutting edge and a relatively dull edge or tread, having in combination, a race way adapted to guide said protectors, said raceway being formed in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, mechanism interposed in said raceway adapted to invert protectors which enter said raceway tread foremost, and a hopper adapted to feed said protectors to said raceway.

18. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes and the like, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guide-ways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, the upper end of one of the guide-ways in the lower section being out of alinement with the lower end of the guide-way of said upper section, a carrier extending across and between said sections with a hole extending therethrough, a stop on said carrier normally projecting beneath said hole, means to move said carrier transversely of said raceway, whereby said hole may be brought into and out of alinement with said guide-ways, and means to move said stop out of alinement with said hole, whereby a protector may be carried from said upper section and delivered to said lower section.

19. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, said lower section having two guideways which merge into one at the lower end thereof, the upper end of the guide-way in one of the lower sections being out of alinement with the lower end of the guideway of said upper section, a carrier slide extending across and between said sections with ahole extending therethrough, an auxiliary slide on the under side of said carrier slide, a spring acting normally to hold said auxiliary slide beneath said hole, and means to move said carrier slide transversely of said raceway, whereby said hole may be brought into and out of alinement with said guide-ways, said auxiliary slide adapted to engage a relatively stationary part when said carrier slide is moved to bring said hole into alinement with the upper end of the guide-way in the lower section, whereby said auxiliary slide is moved out of alinement with said hole and whereby a protector may be carried from said upper section and delivered to said lower section.

20. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, a rotary carrier interposed between said upper and lower sections, means to rotate said carrier and means to lock said rotary carrier in position to deliver a protector to said lower section, whereby a protector received by said carrier from said upper section may be carried to said lower section and inverted during the carrying operation.

21. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, a rotary carrier interposed between said upper and lower sections, and a pair of intermittent gears adapted to rotate said carrier and lock the same in position to receive a protector from said upper section, whereby a protector received by said carrier from said upper section may be carried to said lower section and inverted during the carrying operation.

22. A device for feeding V protectors for the soles and heels of boots and shoes, having in combination, a raceway in two sections, viz., an upper section and a lower section, a rotary carrier interposed between said upper and lower sections, a pair of intermittent gears adapted to rotate said carrier and lock the same in position to deliver a protector to said lower section, whereby a protector received by said carrier from said upper section maybe carried to said lower section and inverted during the carrying operation.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES S. GOODING. SYDNEY E. TAFT. Witnesses:

LOUIS A. JONES, ANNIE J. DAILEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

